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The Women Pilots of FedEx: The Sky Should Never Be the Limit

Circling the globe, transporting cargo as precious as a human heart, as adorable as a pair of pandas or as irreplaceable as Catherine the Great’s favorite jewel encrusted icon, the women pilots of FedEx are quite accustomed to moving rarities from one place to another. It’s the business they’re in, and they love it. At the same time, there is one thing they wish were a bit less special about their job – being a woman in a pilot’s uniform.

Worldwide, it’s estimated that no more than six percent of pilots are female. That’s changing for the better, but slowly. Annie Mattos, a FedEx pilot originally from a small town in Oregon, now based at the company’sCologne, Germany hub, always knew that being a pilot was something that set her heart racing. And she wasn’t disappointed. Having started flying planes at the tender age of 19, Captain Mattos caught the flying bug early and this passion has transcended to her 20 year old daughter who is also studying to go into the profession.

“My dad’s a pilot,” says Captain Mattos, which is another pattern among women pilots. “That’s how I got into it. He definitely encouraged me. I can remember doing a career report in the 9th grade, and you had to pick three careers, and the one that I chose, because I liked the idea of travel, was flight attendant. And Dad said, ‘Don’t be a flight attendant, you can fly the plane!’ So I think that’s the first time I realized there was a possibility that I could do that too.”

A lack of awareness that a seat in the cockpit is even an option, women pilots say again and again, is perhaps the biggest single obstacle to more women with wings. Not that there aren’t other challenges, of course. Night shifts, long absences and erratic schedules can pose an additional challenge to home life but this is all part of the juggling act that working parents in many industries have to circumnavigate.

Susanne Brun, another Fedex pilot at the Cologne hub, who lives in Stockholm, also heralds from a family of aviators. Her father was a former private pilot and her sister now flies planes for Delta Airline. Mother to an eight-year old boy, Captain Brun believes there are ways for parents, and especially mums, to fly and still be around to have quality time with their children. In fact, she believes her career choice gives her an advantage over other professions in that she is able to spend quality time with her son when she is off duty, rather than a few hours here and then.

“I know couples at FedEx who are both pilots and they have children, so they need to have a full-time nanny to make it work. But they can make it work. It is nice for a child to have someone at home every night. I can’t give that, but I give other stability, because when I’m home I’m home for 24 hours. I’m always here when I’m home.”

As for whether it matters if a man or a woman is in the pilot’s seat – no, they all quickly say! This is something they say their male colleagues overwhelmingly agree with, whatever prejudices may have existed a generation or so ago. Capt. Brun says all pilots are really quite alike, whatever their gender: “I would say that all pilots are type-A. They want to decide things.”

Molly Boss, a FedEx pilot based in the Hong Kong hub, believes it’s a positive thing that women have started to make their mark on this profession because they often have different skillsets which are complementary to their male counterparts in the cockpit.

As Capt. Brun commented, both men and women at the controls can add up to the best of both worlds. “I think that the combination of a man and a woman can be good in the cockpit because you get the diversity, the different viewpoints.”

Women are not new to aviation. The Wright Brothers first flew in 1903, and by 1910 Raymonde de Laroche of France became the first woman in the world to earn a pilot’s license. That same year, Bessica Medlar Raiche became the first American woman to solo. In 1932, 80 years ago, legendary pilot Amelia Earhart completed the first solo flight by a woman across the Atlantic. She would disappear, tragically, in 1937, on an around-the-world flight. She and so many others remain inspirations for women who fly or dream of it. Today, Women in Aviation, International (WAI) has more than 9,000 members, including corporate professionals throughout the industry, students, enthusiasts – and pilots.

It is a legacy the women pilots of FedEx say they are proud of and determined to continue, with most saying they feel a real sense of mission to spread the word to as many young women as possible so that they too can lift-off. “It is a job, sure,” says Capt. Mattos, who’s been flying for more than 20 years, “But it’s a great job. There’s always new challenges, always something to keep you involved and intrigued and on your toes. It’s still fun. I still love flying.” She and every other FedEx pilot say when it comes to women and flying a plane – the sky should never be the limit.

Comments

Let us also remember Bessie Coleman who was the first African-American female and first American of any gender to earn an international aviation license from Federation Aeronautique Internationale on June 15, 1921.

Bessie also took a course in advance aviation in France and got her training from Anthony Fokker (renouned aircraft designer), then returned to the US, because at that time in history, she was refused lessons in the US due to her race.

I flew in the old days as a jumpseater and for my surprise, in one of the trips, the whole crew were females!!! Great experience flying with them in the olds 727’s. Every time I took a trip, I have the privilege to fly with at least 1 female pilot, either left or right seat. I have to take out my hat to FEDEX for hiring this “small” force, but when they fly, you don’t know who is the best… Both pilots in FEDEX, males and females, have the best training in the world and they are proud to be part of this company.

This is an awesome story. The eye-opener for me was when Captain Mattos’ father encouraged her to be a pilot instead of a flight attendant. Great job this father has done with lifting the limits from his daughter’s life. Great story!

Beautiful, I love the fact these women actually love what they do. I would have loved to be a female Pilot.. It takes a courageous spirit and thats what they have the sky is the limit and beyound… Stay blessed from Jane Smith to the Beauty in the sky

I flew as a FO for Annie Mattos back in the 90’s at a little airline called GP Express (my first airline job). She was always fun to fly and a great Captain. I absorbed a lot of the good stuff I learned from her when I finally became a Captain at Continental!

I have an interesting photo that I took yesterday of a FedEx plane pulling a vapor trail. At the time I thought “There goes the FedEx guy”. You can see FedEx painted on the side of the plane. I could have been mistaken. It might have been the FedEx lady. I had no idea the ladies were up there. Great job! If you’d care to see the image, let me know and I’d be glad to share it.

I really enjoyed reading about the women pilots of Fedex. When we used to be able to jumpseat, I met quite a few women pilots and you could tell they really enjoyed and were proud of their jobs. Good job Fedex! Great inspiration for future women pilots!

I applaud women that are in traditional mens field.
My father was a pioneer in the avaition field. He was a barn stormer in the late 1920’s-30’s. I wish I could have been around then so he could have been my mentor. He ended up being a Greyhound bus driver and I am a truck driver…
So our father’s are our role models.

Captain mattos, Pilot Susane Brun , Pilot Molly Boss you ladies are realy realy great inspiration for whole fedex Family members. You add another feather in fedex Cap. We feel proud to have female pilots like you in FedEx.

I Hope and Wish there is a way that these Ladies and FEDEX Pilots stories can be shared with Young Ladies and Little Girls in our FEDEX family and other communities..
Their stories are a real inspiration and shouldn’t be limited to our FEDEX organization’s website. It’s a wonderful and “positive” story for social media.
Please Continue to Share It!

Good article for aspiring young female pilots!
Still think though that you have to perform very well !
Women are a small minority and it’s very easy to get criticized!
Men pilots are accepting more female pilots now. The very few exceptions are also not appreciated by their male counterparts!
It’s the best job in the world!

I’ve always been fascinated by Fed Ex and how it works. I order an item in Los Angeles, it’s picked up and goes to Louisville, then the next day it’s in Oakland, CA, by the end of that day it arrives back in either LA or Orange County, it’s final destination and lands by Fed Ex truck at my home. All in all taking only 4 days!

As a writer and extremely curious person (who learned to fly, way too late in life to make it a profession), I’ve always wanted to see how Fed Ex does it’s job, up close & in person.

While we’ve landed on the moon and made advanced discoveries from the Internet to Tablets, Smartphones, now Smart Watches, they can’t eclipse the logistics involved in how Fed Ex “does it”. The start up was a vision of one person, now Fed Ex is just as much a part of our lives, as my iMac that lets me track my packages!

If Fed Ex ever gave tours of how they do their amazing movements and always on time when promised, unlike the USPS or often UPS, I’d line up to see how this marvel works.

What a story I’d love to write about a service most take for granted.

Kudos to your having women pilots. In WW2 women pilots ferried planes from factories across the US to Air Bases bound for overseas. They were the supply chain that helped us win the air war, especially in the Pacific. They became a Legend and some went on to fly again .

I often fly into a large US airport and as we taxi down the long taxiway, off in the distance, there’s a Fed EX plane just waiting to be loaded to go on it’s mission of delivering the goods we all have waited for.

Keep Flying and delivering the “GOODS” we on the ground put our faith in your ability to get what we want to our doors.

This was super inspiring. I absolutely love how women are taking a stand and showing they are just as good or even better than their counterparts. Keep up the good work ladies.. You are truly shinning beacons of hope.

I am the daughter of a test pilot, and I always dreamed of learning to fly– the “bug” is definitely in my blood. Sadly, my preconceptions, as well as those of my mentors, kept me from pursuing that early dream. I applaud the women who have overcome cultural and other obstacles to become commercial pilots. Great to know that some have found a home with FedEx.

Great article about out female flight crew members !
I used to do weight & balances for Capt Susanne Brun’s flights out of CYYZ to Mem, years ago.What a great person to deal with on these nights she was in Toronto !!! She loved her trips to Italy, so we’d spend time comparing notes of our vacations to the Tuscany region.
Nice to see she’s still ” in the seat “.
Nice to read about you Susanne, Take care !!!